Here is Tiff's new car, in all its 1.4L of glory. Cyber gray with 6spd manual (Eco triple overdrive gear set). Turbo puts out 16psi stock, but with just a tune it will do 22psi and is a dyno-proven gain of 36hp and 54tq. That's huge for an engine factory rated at 138hp@4100/148tq@1850. I was worried about the 138hp rating until I saw the rpm...all the power is down low kinda like a diesel. It easily out pulls her Subaru up hills and the listed 1/4 mile times are about the same (mid-low 16s).

It's rated at 42mpg highway, but there are plenty getting just over 50mpg stock. With the tune it is actually better both ways...about 1mpg in mpg mode (cruise switch armed) and a little over 1sec 1/4 in sport mode (cruise switch off). Tune voids the warranty on the powertrain if they find it, but it might be worth the gamble.

First mod will be a simple K&N intake so she can hear the BOV better. I also grabbed some Plasti-Dip to black out all that gay chrome.

It isn't tuned yet, but Vince from Trifecta sells it basically plug-n-play. Upload the tune, datalog a drive, send the log to Vince and if it needs any tweaks he makes them and sends the new file. Pretty simple. It also is done in "transparency mode" which is supposed to make it really tough for the dealer to see.

woody90gtz wrote:It isn't tuned yet, but Vince from Trifecta sells it basically plug-n-play. Upload the tune, datalog a drive, send the log to Vince and if it needs any tweaks he makes them and sends the new file. Pretty simple. It also is done in "transparency mode" which is supposed to make it really tough for the dealer to see.

Yeah.. We've had a few Camaros come in with them being tuned "transparently". Basically the new program that goes into it has the same program ID # as the last. GM has caught onto this and when they see the same program ID # 2+ times they will void the warranty. So just be careful. The PCMs will log the last 10 program ID #s which is how they know. If I ever decide to program my Cruze I plan on getting a JY ECM and burning my VIN into it and tuning that ECM. Then if something breaks I can just install the stock ECM.

I thought the "transparency" sounded too good to be true. I assume that is something that only comes up during warranty engine work? Or would they look for that during an oil change or other unrelated problems?

I like the front ends on them. I'm not a big fan of 4-doors or the tail end, but it's getting tough to find cars offered with a standard trans. I almost kicked through the firewall on it, though...I was surprised how light the clutch pedal was!

Generally it is only checked with engine replacements. And that's only on certain vehicles.. I've only had to check them on trucks, Camaros and a couple Cobalts. If the tech suspects that the vehicle has been tuned/modified (and wants to be a jerk) then they will check it on any vehicle. So you "should" be safe. But again, instead of risking it you may look into having a spare module. One module with the trifecta tune, and one without that you install if something bad happens.

The 1.4T Sonics are really fun to drive. I feel that they have a little less body roll. But when it comes to the all around feel of the vehicle, I like the Cruze more. I struggled trying to decide which of the two I wanted but when it came down to it, a used Cruze was a little less expensive with the options I wanted. The main reason I wanted a Sonic was the headlights..

Its not a BOV you turbo newb! its a re-circulation valve that's why its so quite! I still have mine recirculate back into the intake because without it setup that way I'll get rich spikes between shifts from the MAF registering air that's just getting dumped and it will dump fuel and cause a loud exhaust pop... I get little burps with it setup this way which I think sounds better.

This is also why I will probably never own a new car... I hate dealing with warranty stuff and having to worry about farting in it and voiding the warranty.

The Valve on these cars as well as mine are recirculating and not blowing off the air, I guess in the end it doesn't really matter but for some when you say BOV they think your venting to atmosphere which in your case you are not.

The same thing applied on mine, with the stock air box and air box expansion chamber the diverter valve made no noise at all, thats what all of that is there for to cancel out those noises and make the car quiet... I now have a different valve but it still dumps back in the same location so it's still quiet but you can hear it just a bit with my cone filter. Be proud you just did your first ricer mod on the car... Modded for noise and not performance... LOL! well minus maybe the increase in air flow with the K&N. Dryflow filters are a bit better if you used an oiled style K&N. I'm currently running an AEM dryflow on my Legacy and it prevents any of the media oil from getting on the MAF and getting it sticky and possibly dirty.

If you say BOV on the Legacy forum and you have a Diverter valve in place they will whine and cry about as much as some members do on here about nothing. Oh and you also replaced your air filter with an aftermarket one... Honestly does anyone bitch about doing that without a tune on the Cruze forums? Because damn if you say you put a cone filter on, or a KN panel filter in place of the stock Subaru filter without tuning your car or doing a MAF re-scale you would think you just committed Blasphemy or something...

Apparently the Injen kit requires a tune to run right because of how it changes the MAF reading, but the K&N is fine. Don't have one yet, got a bid on one from ebay for almost $100 cheaper than new. I guess the Trifecta tune is a little different for K&N vs stock airbox.

Car kinda sucks in the snow. Gonna grab a set of Blizzaks for it. And I think paint those stupid shiny wheels body color at the same time. Have to see what I get for a quote.